Chapter 408: Too Dangerous

Duan Rong and Zhu Peng were in that cool room, eating stewed fish; seeing the sand pot was already bottoming out, the two were also slightly tipsy.

Zhu Peng stretched out a leg and nearly kicked over an empty wine jar. He laughed, "Brother Duan, I never expected that not only are you formidable at investigating cases, but your capacity for alcohol is also this good. From childhood to now, when it comes to drinking, I have truly never yielded to anyone. Today, I must admit defeat!"

Duan Rong let out a hiccup from the wine and laughed, "Alcohol tolerance is something innate..."

Duan Rong was halfway through speaking when his brows suddenly furrowed, and he abruptly turned his head to look behind him.

At the very moment he turned his head, he saw a figure on the high wall over there suddenly leap over from the pitch-black night, and with a single bound, it flashed toward them like a wild cat.

Seeing Duan Rong abruptly turn his head without warning, Zhu Peng was naturally surprised in his heart; he focused his eyes to look in the direction Duan Rong was watching and immediately saw a black shadow darting over.

Zhu Peng grabbed his blade and jumped up, shouting, "Where did this thief come from, acting wild in my territory?!"

Seeing him about to rush out of the cool room, Duan Rong remained seated there and said indifferently, "That's enough, it's Zhu Cheng."

"Zhu Cheng?!"

At this moment, the black shadow had already approached, and under the illumination of the lamp, it was indeed Zhu Cheng.

Zhu Peng immediately jumped up and cursed, "What is wrong with you? In the middle of the night, there's a gate you don't use, yet you insist on jumping over the wall to get in."

Zhu Cheng glanced at him sideways, stepped to the entrance of the cool room, looked at him and Duan Rong, and said, "Something has happened!"

Looking at Zhu Cheng's grave expression, Zhu Peng felt a stir in his heart and hurriedly asked, "What happened?"

Zhu Cheng said, "You two come with me, I'll tell you on the way!"

As Zhu Cheng spoke, he had already exerted his movement technique and darted out again.

Zhu Peng turned his head to look at Duan Rong. Duan Rong said, "Why are you looking at me? Why aren't you following?"

After Duan Rong finished speaking, he flashed out, chasing after Zhu Cheng like a swift gale and rolling thunder.

"Damn it!"

Zhu Peng immediately exerted his movement technique as well and chased out, but he saw that the two had already leaped over the wall over there almost simultaneously.

"Wait for me, you two!"

Since Zhou Wei had poisoned that group of craftsmen, it meant his identity had already been exposed; within the Dali Temple, Zhu Cheng had already sent men to every city gate to block Zhou Wei from leaving the city.

As for himself, he immediately set off to rush to Zhou Wei's residence. Zhu Peng's mansion happened to be between the Dali Temple and Zhou Wei's residence, so he stopped by to call for Duan Rong and Zhu Peng, so that if there were any changes, there would be helpers.

When Zhu Peng crossed the high wall, he saw that in the pitch-black night, where was there even a shadow of a person?

"These two animals?!"

Zhu Cheng was currently as urgent as a spark, how could he spare the time to wait for him?

Zhu Peng had no choice but to randomly pick a direction and chase after them.

Zhou Wei's residence was in a rather secluded house in another district.

At this time, it was already late at night, and the surroundings were completely silent; only the dim light of the main room, through the half-open door crack, cast a long, mottled shadow of light in the courtyard.

Suddenly, two black shadows landed in the courtyard almost at the same time.

One black shadow was as swift as a wild cat.

And the other figure, appearing slow but actually fast, drifted like a falling leaf, landing without a sound.

It was precisely Duan Rong and Zhu Cheng, who had rushed over taking advantage of the night.

Although it was in the pitch-black night, with only a dim light shooting from the main room, both were experienced people and still saw at a glance that a person was standing beside a large tree not far from the entrance of the main room.

That silhouette stood beside the large tree, motionless.

With a *zi-liu* sound, Zhu Cheng drew the blade at his waist, the cold light flashing in the night.

He stepped forward, looking at the silhouette by the tree with cautious eyes, and shouted, "Who is it? Come out!"

Duan Rong sighed behind him and said, "They are already a dead person!"

"A dead person?!" Zhu Cheng's heart was startled; although the night was bleak, he could still see that the person was standing by the tree, how could they be a dead person?

Duan Rong suddenly had the True Qi in his palm slightly surge, and he lightly struck toward the door of the main room from a distance; hearing a *creak*, the main room door, which had only been open a crack, suddenly swung wide open.

A large swath of dim yellow light shone out, illuminating the large tree not far away.

It was indeed Zhou Wei standing beside that large tree!

To be more precise, he had been pierced through the throat by a flying knife and pinned to that large tree.

He was wearing common casual clothes, and a bundle had fallen at his feet. Clearly, he had been shot and killed while trying to escape.

The dim yellow light shone on Zhou Wei's face; he saw his eyes were wide open, with the resentment and unwillingness from his final moments frozen in them.

Zhu Cheng's heart tightened.

Zhou Wei was also dead; this was already the worst outcome he could have imagined.

Once Zhou Wei died, it very likely meant the trail was broken.

Zhu Cheng leaped to Zhou Wei's side and immediately checked the corpse roughly. He saw that a large hole had been blown out of Zhou Wei's throat by the flying knife.

Zhu Cheng swept his eyes over him and saw his blade was still at his waist. He hadn't even drawn his blade, clearly killed by a single strike before he could react.

Zhou Wei was also an expert of the True Qi Realm Second Layer! And he was a vigilant person!

Just what kind of person could kill him in a single encounter?

The blood from the wound had not yet drained; under the dim yellow light, one could still see the blood light surging.

Zhou Wei's death must have been within half an hour.

At this time, Duan Rong also walked over; he reached out and directly pulled out the flying knife that had pierced Zhou Wei's throat and was stuck in the tree. Under the light, one could see it was just a Suozhibiao cast from black iron.

Once the Suozhibiao was pulled out, Zhou Wei's corpse swayed, but his body had already slightly stiffened, so it did not fall down immediately.

Zhu Cheng immediately helped the corpse lie down and began to search the body, but only found a few silver notes.

Duan Rong looked at the Suozhibiao in his hand, his eyes stirred slightly, and he thought to himself, "Spirit Reader!"

Immediately, a set of data floated before his eyes.

Artifact: Black Iron Suozhibiao

Spirit Artifact Tier: Sixth Tier

Devour requirement: Host Mental Power Level 6 (Satisfied)

Devour effect: Ruyi Three-Fold Hand Third Layer

Duan Rong looked at the data floating before his eyes in the desolate night, his pupils shifting. "Ruyi Three-Fold Hand? It is a hidden weapon technique of the True Qi Realm."

"Devour!"

As Duan Rong spat these two words from his heart, the data panel before him slowly dissipated into the night.

At this moment, Zhu Cheng had already finished searching the bundle at Zhou Wei's feet, and he raised his head.

Whether on Zhou Wei's person or inside that bundle, no useful clues had been discovered.

Duan Rong handed the black iron Suozhibiao in his hand toward Zhu Cheng and said, "He has been lurking by your side for many years. Like a deep-cover agent such as him, he is always prepared to be exposed and retreat; he would almost never leave any clues behind."

Zhu Cheng sighed; he also knew that what Duan Rong said was right, but he truly was not reconciled to being played like this.

He looked at the black iron Suozhibiao in his hand, his gaze suddenly fixed, and said, "Can this Suozhibiao be used to find clues?"

Duan Rong said, "You can check, though the hope should not be great." If clues could be found, the other party would not have left it behind.

Zhu Cheng nodded and placed that Suozhibiao on Zhou Wei's corpse.

Zhu Cheng stood up and looked toward the doorway of the main room; Zhou Wei's residence should also be searched to see if there were any clues, and Zhou Wei's corpse also had to be handed over to the Coroner for a more detailed and thorough examination.

He turned his head to look at Duan Rong, cupped his fists, and said, "I must trouble Brother Duan to guard the scene here; I will go to the Dali Temple to summon a team to thoroughly search this courtyard and see if there are any clues."

Duan Rong nodded and said, "Go ahead. I am here."

"Many thanks!" After Zhu Cheng finished speaking, he exerted his movement technique and darted out of the courtyard.

Duan Rong's Divine Sense had already scanned inside and outside the house. At this time, seeing Zhu Cheng retreat, he went into the main room, moved a grand armchair to the doorway, and sprawled half-reclined in the chair, preparing to sleep for a while to rest.

In the few years since crossing over to this world, if nothing else, his nerves had become increasingly thick and callous. When he first arrived in this world, he had vomited until the world turned dark the first time he killed someone; now, with a corpse right beside him, he could still sleep soundly.

To tell the truth, over these past few years, the number of people killed by these hands of his was already beyond counting.

About the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, the Dali Temple's men and horses had already surrounded this place.

One only heard someone at the entrance shouting, "Can you not wait for me? It's the middle of the night; do you know how long I've been circling this area?"

Hearing that tone, which was quite unconvinced, it was precisely Zhu Peng, who had only found his way here after hearing the sounds of the men and horses.

Zhu Cheng said, "The situation was urgent! Besides, how could Brother Duan keep up? You were the one who got left behind; you should look more at your own reasons."

"You..."

As the two spoke, they had already walked into the courtyard.

Duan Rong stretched and stood up.

Seeing Duan Rong, Zhu Peng said, "Brother Duan, you are too unkind. I treated you to good wine and food, yet you didn't even leave me a mark so I could at least keep up with you."

Duan Rong smiled slightly and said, "I did leave a mark!"

Zhu Peng said, "What mark did you leave?"

Duan Rong said, "I ate too much. I farted the whole way; didn't you smell it?"

Zhu Cheng patted Zhu Peng on the shoulder and laughed, "This is where you are in the wrong. Brother Duan went to such trouble to fart, and you didn't even smell it? That is truly inexcusable!"

"I can't be bothered with you two!" Zhu Peng hunched his shoulders, shook off Zhu Cheng's hand, and ran over to the Coroner under the tree to look at Zhou Wei's corpse.

The Dali Temple's men and horses were already searching inside and outside the courtyard; Duan Rong glanced at them a few times and realized they were indeed meticulous in their methods—they were all professionals.

Zhu Cheng began searching inside the house, and Duan Rong also strolled around the room; after all, he had been summoned to assist in the case, so he had to at least go through the motions.

The men from the Dali Temple were clearly very thorough in handling cases; seeing two hours pass, the sky was already bright. Inside and outside the house, many figures were still busy.

Duan Rong yawned; he was only going through the motions, and having already stayed up all night, he really did not want to continue, so he greeted Zhu Cheng and prepared to return to the relay station to sleep.

Seeing Duan Rong about to leave, Zhu Peng also said he was leaving; he had only come to watch the excitement and did not know how to investigate cases at all. His duty was actually just to mobilize troops to assist Zhu Cheng when necessary.

Zhu Cheng waved his hand, not wanting to bother with him.

Zhu Peng walked out the door and found that Duan Rong had already vanished; Zhu Peng grinned and muttered, "Is this guy a ghost? He disappears in a flash."

As Zhu Peng spoke, he yawned and headed toward the alley entrance.

Duan Rong ate some breakfast by the street.

Honestly, the wontons and steamed buns in Shenyun Prefecture were truly something else; although they were a bit expensive, the taste was beyond words.

Duan Rong wiped his mouth, his stomach feeling warm. He walked slowly toward the relay station. Getting a good sleep after this would be nothing short of comfortable.

Just as he reached the relay station, he suddenly noticed that there were quite a few people at the entrance. Those people seemed to have waited for most of the night, either squatting or sitting there, leaning against each other and falling asleep, their faces weary.

Duan Rong walked to the main gate of the relay station, and the soldier at the door was also leaning on his spear, dozing off.

Duan Rong pushed open the gate of the relay station, startling the soldier awake.

"Lord Duan, you've returned!" The soldier called out upon seeing Duan Rong.

Duan Rong gave a grunt, turned his head to look at the crowd at the relay station entrance, and asked, "What are they all here for?"

Before the soldier could answer, a loud shout erupted from the crowd: "Quick! The Thunder God Duan has returned! Quick!"

Duan Rong was stunned upon hearing this.

"Thunder God Duan!?"

In almost an instant, he realized that they were talking about him.

Those people had already swarmed toward him; some handed over calling cards, others offered him things, and quite a few young women were the most enthusiastic and uninhibited, rushing over to hug him, though their appearances were mostly indescribable.

Duan Rong immediately closed the relay station gate, smiled through the wooden fence, and said, "You have recognized the wrong person!"

Yet he heard one person reply, "You are Thunder God Duan. We have already inquired clearly; only one person with the surname Duan lives in this relay station, and just now I heard that soldier call you Lord Duan!"

Hearing that person's words, the crowd cheered and pushed even harder.

"Stop them!"

Duan Rong shouted loudly and darted away, heading toward his own room.

There was only one guard at the entrance; how could he stop so many people?

Sharp-eyed people had already seen the room Duan Rong darted into, and a group of people swarmed over, breaking the door bolt, only to find that the room was already empty.

Duan Rong had already packed his things and jumped out from the window.

His figure flashed, and he passed two alley intersections before he stopped his footsteps.

Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he truly felt some lingering fear.

Too dangerous!?

It was truly too dangerous!

If he had really been surrounded by that group of people, there was no telling what might have happened. Especially that woman running at the very front, who was both fat and ugly, and had a thick layer of powder smeared on her face; just thinking about that appearance made Duan Rong shudder.

Sigh!

It seemed he could not go back to the post house!

But he still had to find a place to sleep.

Duan Rong's gaze shifted; in his current situation, an inn was not safe either, so he had better go to Zhu Peng's place.

Carrying his bundle on his back, Duan Rong had just walked to the front of Zhu Peng's residence gate when he saw Zhu Peng swaying over from the end of the alley.

He had also just finished breakfast and was preparing to return to his residence to sleep, when he suddenly saw Duan Rong coming over.

As soon as he saw Duan Rong carrying a bundle, he laughed heartily, put his arm around Duan Rong's shoulder, and said, "What? Can't stay at the post house anymore? I already heard about it while having morning tea at the teahouse just now. They are all calling you 'Duan the Thunder God'? And that storyteller, he made you up to be like someone with three heads and six arms."

Hearing this, Duan Rong's face immediately darkened with black lines. People fear fame just as pigs fear being fat; this was the first time he had experienced it.

Zhu Peng said carelessly, "It's fine. If you can't stay at the post house, we'll sleep together from now on."

Duan Rong immediately pushed him away and said, "Who is sleeping with you? Your residence is so big, find me a room."

Zhu Peng said, "I was joking, why are you getting anxious? There is a high-quality Separate Courtyard in the residence; I will take you there, it is both quiet and clean."

"That's more like it!"

Duan Rong slept in the Separate Courtyard at Zhu Peng's residence, and after the two of them woke up, they ate lunch together, only lazily heading toward the Dali Temple when the afternoon arrived.

They estimated that Zhu Cheng should still be busy, and if they went over to take over the shift, it would allow Zhu Cheng to rest a while.

The two of them chatted as they walked to the entrance of the Dali Temple, only to see the pockmarked-faced man tidying up documents beside the stone steps at the entrance. It was clear that it was only at this hour that the scheduled affairs of the Dali Temple had been finished.

The pockmarked-faced man finished collecting the documents, held them in his arms, and just happened to see Duan Rong and Zhu Peng walking over from afar, so he bowed in greeting, turned around, and walked up the stone steps, preparing to return inside the Dali Temple.

Duan Rong had originally been laughing and talking with Zhu Peng, but looking at the back of the pockmarked-faced man, his brows suddenly furrowed.

This back and the way of walking, why the more he looked, the more familiar it seemed!

Duan Rong's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

He remembered!

That was the back from the Spirit Tool of the black iron Suozhibiao that had shot and killed Zhou Wei last night!

Exactly the same, and the walking posture was also completely identical!

Duan Rong moved his mind, and his Divine Sense suddenly surged out, penetrating the dantian of the pockmarked-faced man who was just crossing the threshold of the Dali Temple.

He saw that the mass of True Qi entrenched within the pockmarked-faced man's dantian, judging by its thickness, was exactly the True Qi Realm Third Layer!

"Sure enough, it is exactly the True Qi Realm Third Layer!"

"The one who shot and killed Zhou Wei is him!"

(End of chapter)